International speakers on current photography topics in the spring semester

Date: 2023.03.20

The invited speakers for the spring semester of the Photography MA explore the possibilities of the responsible use of photography in light of the challenges posed by the post-photographic era. Their work serves as inspirational examples for further interpretations of art-related interdisciplinary research.

Our new arrival this March is Ukrainian curator, artist, and researcher, and founder and director of the Odesa Photo Days national festival since 2015 Kateryna Radchenko. The festival has moved from the war-torn country to international venues, and also includes an online mentor programme on the history of photography for young photographers. In collaboration with their mentors, selected artists have created photo projects about their war experience. During her stay in Budapest, Radchenko will hold workshops on the topic of photo book editing. On Thursday, 23 March, her public presentation entitled “Ukrainian Photography from 70th till now” will take place at MOME TWO Film Studio. The presentation follows the photo-artistic efforts in Ukraine, a country whose cultural heritage and values are also under siege, and provides an overview of the relationship between Ukrainian identity and Ukrainian photography.

With nearly a year’s delay as a consequence of the Ukrainian refugee crisis, the first winner of the Elizabeth A-i-R photography residency programme arrives in Hungary. As the professional partner of the MOME Photography MA, the Municipality of Erzsébetváros launched a programme in 2022 to provide creative support in Budapest to international photographers and artists creating ephemeral and location-specific pieces. Chosen from nearly 100 applicants, Berlin-based artist Yuki Jungesblut specialises in research-based art and the artistic approach to social systems, attempting to define hard-to-grasp conditions between fantasy and reality. On 19 April, she will hold a public presentation on her multi-layered projects organised along the links of collective and individual memory, and analysing the impact of emotions during the process of remembrance.

In May, our guest will be world-famous Catalan conceptual photographer, artist, writer, editor and curator Joan Fontcuberta. His work is crucial in understanding the post-photographic state and his series questions the truthfulness of photographic imagery. Fontcuberta is professor at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, and was guest lecturer at numerous universities, including Harvard. His works have been displayed to the general public at internationally-acclaimed institutions such as the Hasselblad Foundation in Gothenburg (2013) and La Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris (2014). On 11 May, he will hold a presentation at MOME about his creative process, which heavily blurs the lines between reality and fiction. Built on deception, his works help to understand the strategies of authoritarian communication, and warn against the dangers of non-transparent access to scientific data and facts. In his projects from recent years, he has experimented with the historical analyses of the previously unknown photographic works of László Moholy-Nagy, straddling the line between reality and fiction.

In May, a workshop will be held by writer, photographer and lecturer at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, the Rhode Island College of Design, the University of Hartford and the Neue Schule für Fotografie Berlin Jörg Colberg. His books ─ essential documents on the theoretical foundations of contemporary photography ─ explore current opportunities for realism in our day and age. His workshop “Photo Book as Contemporary Art Form”, developed specifically for students of the Photography MA, focus on how to edit photographs responsibly and in line with the content. MOME students will participate in international festivals with the book designs created during the course. The public presentations of Joan Fontcuberta and Jörg Colberg are expected to take place in the afternoon of 11 May at MOME.

Other guests are expected at our Campus for the third and next edition of the Work in Context Symposium in May. The international exhibition accompanying the event focuses on the topic of responsibility, and brings exciting examples of artistic practices of social engagement. More updates coming soon.

Kateryna Radchenko: Ukrainian Photography from 70th till now (+ Q&A)
Date: 23 March 2023, 5:00 p.m.
Venue: MOME, Tech Park, Film Studio

Yuki Jungesblut: Freestyle Research_Ways of Sense Making (+ Q&A)
Date: 19 April 2023, 5:00 p.m.
Venue: MOME, B_001

Joan Fontcuberta: Stranger than Fiction + Jörg Colberg: Understanding Photobooks
Date: 11 May 2023, 5:00 p.m.
Venue: MOME, Tech Park, Film Studio

Work in Context International Symposium 2023
Date: 16 May 2023.
Venue: MOME, Auditorium

More news

Anna Tőkés, animation director

The first guest of the Q&Alumniof series is Anna Tőkés, MOME Animation alumna, who has recently participated in the Annecy International Animation Film Festival with her diploma film titled “The Last Drop.” In this episode, you can learn more about Anna’s experience at our university, her favourite memories of her time spent on campus, and even about her secret talents.

System-level thinking in the winning student projects of the ‘Jump into the Future!’ competition

Water still feels like a given in our everyday lives – but for how much longer? This pressing issue was tackled by secondary school students in the 2025 edition of the ‘Jump into the Future!’ creative competition. Working in teams, pupils from Years 7 to 10 developed bold, imaginative ideas for the future of one of life’s most essential resources. In the second round, selected teams refined their concepts in close collaboration with MOME mentors. At the final on 25 June, ten teams presented their forward-thinking visions, with four of them awarded by a jury of MOME faculty. First place went to Ísbíltúr, second to Bacsaók, third to Code Noir, while Newwave received a special prize. All four stood out not only for their creativity, but also for their systems-level approach, serving as a powerful reminder that water scarcity is no distant threat but an issue we must act on now.

MOME students once again take top honours at the Red Dot Awards

How can we make better use of public transport infrastructure? What would a truly fast and effective life-saving device look like? And how can we save agriculture in a world without bees? These are just a few of the questions addressed by our design students, and their imaginative, forward-thinking answers have earned international recognition in the Design Concept category of one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions, the Red Dot Award. Seven projects mentored through the MOME Red Dot submission programme stood out from the global competition this year, including diploma projects and semester-long university projects.

All News